Lonely Island
by jaymanson
Summary: If you are reading this, then I promise I will continue again soon. I am currently relocating from the UK to New Zealand, so things are a little hectic and I don't have much time to write at the moment. I'll be back with a big bundle of chapters in one go
1. one

Becca's lungs burned as she ran at full sprint across the dark, deserted street, ducking quickly into an alley. By her best guess, she had been running flat out for five minutes now, and beside starting to feel a little light-headed, the lactic acid creeping into her leg muscles was giving her cramps like she'd never felt before. Becca promised herself a long, relaxing candle-lit bath and a large glass of her favourite Chardonnay when this was over. The idea instilled a welcome burst of motivation in her mind, _as if the pack of infected following closely behind me are not motivation enough_.

The alley was almost pitch-black, lit only faintly by the lustrous, full moon directly overhead. Had it been obscured by clouds, she might not have seen the faint outline of the overturned metal trashcan blocking her path. _Shit_, she thought as she hurdled, her trailing foot scraping the top as it passed over. The relative silence of the night was shattered as the infected barraged through the trashcan, the metal-on-concrete sound almost deafening as it echoed in the enclosed alley.

_Focus - only 40 metres to go_, she thought, trying to block out the snarling, anguished cries over her shoulder. _Keep your pace steady_, she encouraged herself. Her mind cast back to her high school days when she was consistently the fastest female sprinter in her year, even beating the times of most of the guys. Her mum had been so proud of her, winning the gold medal for her age group every summer in the school games. If only she were still around to… _Damn it Becca! Focus! _

_20 metres!_ She felt like she was about to faint, the high sided walls of the alley closing in on her, emphasising the feeling of tunnel vision. The infected were almost biting at her heels now. She imagined she could smell the stench of decay preceding them, reaching out to her like tentacles, ready to pull in their next meal. Becca fought the cold fingers of fear reaching into her mind. _Focus girl! This is only a race, and you don't lose races_, she commanded.

_10 metres! _The infected were almost on top of her now, their hands - some broken and twisted, some missing fingers - reached out to Becca, trying to grip any part of her they could.

Suddenly, the deep rumble of a diesel engine appeared out of nowhere, and a high sided vehicle screeched to a halt, blocking the exit of the alley. Almost instantaneously, a powerful searchlight on top of the vehicle seemed to explode into life, illuminating the alley with its powerful, blinding light. The infected, acting upon primal instinct, stalled just ever so slightly, giving Becca the split second she needed to dive sharply into the open fire exit to her right.

"Shit! That was far too close!" she yelled, as the heavy door was slammed shut behind her, the infected immediately hammering and clawing at the door, trying to force their way in.

The doorman clicked on a large torch and shone it directly in her eyes. "You ought to earn a medal for that run, my girl," his deep voice boomed heartily. "Come on! Let me buy you a drink." He lowered the torch from her eyes and extended his other hand to help her up from the ground.

Becca's shoulders slumped as the adrenaline in her system fell back down towards normal levels. She felt elated, grateful to be alive, and a small grin etched itself across her petite face. She looked up and gripped his hand tightly with hers. "Make it a bottle of Chardonnay," she grinned. "I've got a date with my bath... Sir!"


	2. two

Becca brushed herself off and followed Major Cole along the corridor. Her slight, athletic figure, standing at 5'5", was dwarfed by his gigantic 6'4" frame which appeared almost as wide as Becca was tall. However, Becca never felt intimidated by Cole, for although he was a monster of a man, the one thing which separated him from the other body building gorillas in the unit was his broad, toothy smile which never seemed to leave his face. In fact, she couldn't think of any time she had seen him look pissed off. Serious - yes - but then these were serious times.

As they turned a corner, the torch highlighted a set of red double doors ahead. Cole pushed his hand out dead centre, and both doors swung open wide as if hit by a tank. They passed through; entering left of screen at the front of a large movie theatre lit dazzlingly by a powerful floodlight situated at the rear of the theatre which cast long, eerie shadows against the white screen. Becca felt another surge of gratitude run through her, for only just over a month ago she had thought she would never see another movie, listen to another song or stay up late watching television. Although she had yet to experience these things again, she at least now had a glimmer of hope, the prospect of returning to a normal life again. All she had to do was survive until the end of this mission.

"Black King, this is Rook, over!" the radio clipped to Cole's belt crackled into life, startling Becca from her thoughts.

Cole snatched the radio from his belt and raised it to his mouth. "Report in!"

"Package is secure, Sir." Becca knew this to mean that the entrance to the alley had also been blocked by another vehicle, trapping the infected. "We count nine, I repeat, nine infected," the voice on the radio continued through heavy static.

"Excellent," Cole exclaimed. "More than we'd hoped for. We all deserve a drink tonight, don't you agree Private?"

Becca smiled to herself. Cole was not the archetypal Major - a strict disciplinarian who embodied the values of code and conduct - but with sixteen years seniority to the next oldest man in the unit, he was looked upon as more like a paternal figure. For this reason, the men fought harder, endured more and always gave him their unflinching respect, almost as if to simply make him proud of them.

"Roger that Sir!" the voice replied, with an audible smile, as Cole clipped the radio back on his belt.

Cole started walking briskly to the exit door of the theatre. "Well done Becca! Thanks to you, we've got some fine specimens out there," he said, turning his head to flash his trademark smile.

"Well, I suppose I've got to earn my keep around here," she said with a laugh. "I can't just sit around and reminisce about good times past."

Cole stopped and turned to face her, placing a huge hand on each of her shoulders. His serious face had returned, and he gazed at her with fatherly reverence. "I admire your strength Becca, but you don't owe us anything. You do know that, don't you?"

Becca stared hard into his eyes. "I owe you everything Sir, but I'm staying for other reasons." Becca's speech faltered slightly and her gaze lowered to the ground, the pressure of the last fifteen minutes, combined with the memories of her past life flooding into her thoughts, threatening to weaken some of the inner strength and resolve that had kept her alive for the last eight months. She swallowed back the lump in her throat and fixed her eyes back on Cole. "You know that better than anyone else."

Cole's gleaming smile broke out, like the sun reappearing from behind a cloud. It was infectious, and Becca couldn't help but smile again herself. "You know you're welcome to stay with us for the mission. Yes, I know your reasons, but I can't say I understand them fully. You've been given a second chance to live, and I fully intend making sure you use it." Cole glanced around to ensure they were alone. "And since you've got more guts than some of my men," he said with feigned secrecy and a sly wink. "I'm glad to have you on my team. I'll be sorry when you go."

"Let's get this mission over with, and I'm sure by that time, I'll feel that I've done enough. Afterwards… well, I promise I'll try to resume some sort of normal life, somewhere."

"As long as you know you can get off the train at any time you like - just say the word!"

"Affirmative Sir!" she said with a cheeky grin.

"And you don't have to call me Sir either. You're not army personnel, remember." Cole chided.

"Now I thought I was part of the team", she joked.

Cole laughed heartily, his huge chest heaving up and down. Removing his hands from her shoulders, he turned around and started again towards the theatre's exit. "Let's get this over with", he said as he walked. "Then we can all have that drink."

They passed through the doors into the main foyer of the cinema, and not for the first time Becca was struck by the beauty of the interior. Although the building was modern, it had been decorated impeccably in an Art Deco style. The carpet was a deep, vibrant red with a minimal pattern laced through it, the walls painted in patterns using black and subtle variations of oranges and reds.

The designers had also paid close attention to the decorative features in the foyer, from the stylised door surrounds at the entrance to each movie theatre, to the large ornate chandelier hanging central on the elaborately painted ceiling. Not for the first time, Becca imagined how elegant the foyer would have looked when bathed in the subtle lighting created by the up-lighters on the wall and the warm pink neon glow from the signs advertising the _Box Office_ and the _Snack Bar_.

The garish lighting emitted by the four floodlights in each corner of the room, however, only served to quickly dispel Becca's reverie. The Infection Control Council, formed by the UN in the wake of the outbreak, gave their Military units full authorisation to select any resource available to ensure completion of their missions; the cinema being the perfect command post with emergency exits from each of the eight movie theatres and a flat, accessible roof.

Becca struggled to keep up with Cole as he marched across the foyer, passing the main entrance which had been barricaded with five inch thick sheets of metal, welded into place to keep the infected out. Suddenly Cole stopped in his tracks, forcing her to take evasive action to avoid walking straight into his back.

It was only then that Becca's ears started to register something new in the background; a deep vibration, increasing in volume every second. While her initial understanding was slow to realise the probable source, Cole had instantly understood what he was hearing, and he cursed under his breath; this was unexpected, and he already knew what that implied. In his experience, there were never any good surprises in war, and his gut told him this was to be no exception.


End file.
